A local community is shocked and angry over the destruction of an 800-year-old natural wonder.

Local tour guide Peter Murphy said he was leading some French tourists to a centuries-old eucalyptus tree in the Ferguson Valley, about two hours south of Perth, when he discovered that the tree had been sawn down to the stump.

“I took them there to show them the tree, not knowing it was gone,” he told 6PR Perth’s Gary Adshead on Friday.

“I was devastated. I’m just devastated.”

The tree, named the “Bob Brown” tree after the Tasmanian environmentalist and former Greens senator, is said to have stood on this spot since the 12th century.

In a call to 6PR, Mr Brown said he was “horrified” by the loss.

“I have seen this repeatedly where trees have been destroyed, sometimes to take revenge on environmentalists, but often for no good reason,” he said.

“Why on earth they would want to prune a natural tree when they were putting up a fence around it to protect visitors from falling branches is a mystery to me.”

The 800-year-old Bob Brown tree in the Ferguson Valley in Western Australia after it was felled

The 12th-century tree was a popular tourist attraction and sacred to the indigenous Noongar people.

“You do that with other trees, you do that with ancient ruins, they did that at Stonehenge.”

The Western Australian Government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has acknowledged that it had hired a contractor to prune the tree in Wellington National Park to prevent falling branches from falling into the hands of visitors, but that it had no intention of felling the tree.

“The DBCA has engaged an arborist to remove the fallen branches and eliminate the hazard,” the department said in a statement.

“DBCA met with the contractor on site prior to commencing work to determine the scope required.

“DBCA contacted the contractor and there was an obvious communication problem on the part of the contractor as the instructions regarding the cutting work to be carried out were clear.”

Politician Bob Brown believes it should be a crime to cut down such a historic and significant tree

Mr Brown suggested that those responsible should be prosecuted.

“I consider this to be criminal behavior,” he said.

“This tree was there in the 12th century, if you estimate its dating correctly. It has great significance for the Noongar people.”

“It was a great source of inspiration and wonder, possibly for another century or two. But that was not taken into account.”

Mr Brown said he had written to Western Australia Premier Roger Cook about the incident.

“The locals are devastated,” said Mr Brown.

Speaking to 9News, Mr Brown compared the situation to the felling of the iconic ‘Robin Hood’ tree in the UK last year.

The centuries-old tree in Sycamore’s Gap felled into the World Heritage-listed Hadrian’s Wall in September 2023.

The famous tree attracted thousands of tourists and landscape photographers every year and was featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”. The tree, which was felled overnight, caused great outrage at the time.

Two men were later charged over the incident.

“They’re arresting people for defending trees. It’s time to arrest people for destroying trees,” Brown told the network about the tree in Ferguson Valley.